Samuel Umtiti Heading To England? – Two Premier League Giants Keen On French Centre-Back

Samuel Umtiti has always been considered as one of the best centre-backs in the world, but this season he has taken his play to a whole new level. Unfortunately, he might not play for FC Barcelona for far too long, if recent reports are true.

According to the Daily Mail, both Manchester City and Manchester United are tracking the France international in order to make a move for him next summer, as the 24-year-old suddenly looks like an affordable player when looking at his current release clause.

Umtiti has a £54 million release clause in his current contract and while that seems like a steep price for a defender, the market will likely go frazy following the move that sent Virgil van Dijk from Southampton to Liverpool for a record-breaking £75M. The French is a far better defender when looking at most advanced metrics.

City have been looking to upgrade their defence all season long, and Umtiti seems like a reasonable upgrade compared to the current in-house options. The same could be said at Manchester United, where the former Lyon star would immediately become the leader of what has been a shaky defensive unit over the past few weeks.

Money wouldn’t be a problem to sign the French star, either. Umtiti currently earns around £52,000-a-week at Barca, and both Manchester clubs would be keen to triple his wages to convince him to move. And considering money makes the world go ’round, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to imagine Umtiti playing in the Premier League in a few more months.